WindsorEats has formally announced its commitment to initiatives that promote environmental, social and economic sustainability within the local tourism industry.
“After enduring several severe climate-induced weather incidents that hampered our tourism season in 2019, including flooded waterfronts that postponed our iconic Dinner on a Pier event, WindsorEats is officially ensuring our focus is on a Triple Bottom Line,” said Adriano Ciotoli, who together with his sister Pina, owns WindsorEats. “Triple Bottom Line is when business success is no longer defined only by monetary gain, but also by the effect on people and planet.”
“Every ticket WindsorEats sells to one of our experiences will now include a contribution to ERCA, specifically to plant trees and grow the tree cover in the Windsor-Essex region, which has some of the lowest tree cover in all of Canada,” Ciotoli announced. “And, not only are we helping take care of our community, we will ensure each member of the WindsorEats team receives a more livable wage when working with us. We feel increasing staff wages 20% and providing our team with a more livable wage will directly correlate to great experiences being led by individuals who are happy with and proud of being your host.”
This effort further builds on WindsorEats’ longstanding commitment to sustainability, which includes promoting cycling and trail use, using biodegradable cups at events, and applying an environmental lens to when planning and implementing events.
The Essex Region Conservation Foundation hopes that other organizations will follow WindsorEats’ leadership and join the Partners In Sustainability movement. “We are so delighted to welcome WindsorEats as our first Partner In Sustainability, and hope that many other local businesses – big and small – will also want to demonstrate their corporate social responsibility by supporting this initiative,” said Susan Stockwell Andrews, the Foundation’s President.
“Partners in Sustainability is intended as a flexible model whereby businesses can support tree planting efforts in a way that works within their business operations.” WindsorEats has committed 2% of their ticket and event sales to be invested in community tree planting efforts.
Trees are identified as the single biggest weapon in the fight against climate change. In the Windsor-Essex region, only 8.5% of the landscape consists of natural areas coverage, and millions of trees must be planted across the region to create a future of environmental sustainability.
“Tourism Windsor Essex Pelee Island applauds WindsorEats for being ahead of the curve in committing to environmental sustainability through their vocational pursuits,” said Gordon Orr, TWEPI’s CEO. “This effort of investing in the environment by donating funds to support tree planting and investing more money into their human capital is a winning combination.”
In addition to providing opportunities for organizations to support local tree planting, the Partners in Sustainability initiative also provides a way for individuals to support local tree planting while reducing their carbon footprint for driving, flying and energy consumption.
